It had been four weeks since she had seen Obi-Wan, though he did send her consistent communications. She was sleeping easier now, now that she could go to the doctor's with no fear of being ostracized due to not being married. The ring on her finger, and the marriage certificate now locked in the palace safe ahd been enough to secure her planet. No one knew of the groom in this arrangement, though she thought the elderly woman who cleaned her private quarters might have some guess.
She had told Korkie of the pregnancy, and her nephew had, of course, been thrilled. "It will be splendid to have a cousin, Auntie." He had said to her with a genuine smile on his face; though she knew that to another, less ostentatious being, this might be some grievous offense. With her sister having denounced her claim to the throne to join the soldier on Cordia, Korkie had been next in line to the throne, but with this baby legitimized by marriage, he was no longer. It didn't seem to bother him.
She did miss Obi-Wan though, who she tracked via the Holonet when she wasn't busy with the daily duties of running the planet. She met with a board of directors, mostly males who she noticed seemed to be almost serenely afraid of being too close to her. The thought made her laugh, if they were talking about trade routes and markets, they were close-minded and powerful; on the subject of children, they seemed to be as timid as babies themselves. She had explained the situation to them however, and they had nodded respectfully at her rights to her own decisions; though she suspected one or two might be harboring some resentment. She was determined not to let this interfere with her work, though; and even though she was four months along now, it so far had not.
She had decided that they begin reconstruction on the nursery. Her old room as a child, the sector she used to share with Bo-Katan, was being baby-proofed and refurbished. She spent the quiet hours of the evening, after work and dinner and doctor visits, on the holo with Obi-Wan, selecting furniture. They were going with a yellow, pink, light blue, and green theme. The sex of the baby mattered to neither of them, and though she could still sense the trepidation in Obi-Wan about being a father to begin with, he seemed to be growing gradually more enthusiastic.
There were times when he could not talk. When he was in the midst of battle, planning, or had other obligations. One night he had called her to talk in a low whisper, and she had been forced to laugh at hearing one of the soldiers yelling for people to be quiet so he could sleep. He had hung up then, with a small grin at her.
She talked to Padme nearly as much now; Anakin's revelation to Obi-Wan bringing the men, and now their wives, closer together. Padme was no mother, but she was excited for Satine and Obi-Wan, had hinted that she might be planning the same for herself and Anakin. She was also an expert at maintaining a premise of a hidden marriage as opposed to an open one.
The two days after their wedding had satisfied some of Satine's urges to be with Obi-Wan. They had been able to spend a good deal of time together, but to keep from any suspicion, they both had to return to reality shortly afterwards; it had been two days of bliss together, but there was nothing at the end that was going to keep them together. Though now she did have her wedding band, that weighed slightly on her left hand until she grew used to it.
Now, she was wondering what the future might bring, knowing that she wouldn't speak to him that night. He was on a wayward mission, ordered by Palpatine himself, one that the Chancellor had requested Obi-Wan be a piece of in particular. He had been confused, she knew, but had accepted the mission with grace. He would be gone for three days, and she would spend those nights alone; but she was happy for now, with the simple memory of their so recent time together.
Obi-Wan rolled up his pant legs, slopping through the mud of this planet, lightsaber held aloft if only to keep it from sinking into the mud around him. Cody and a few other clones trudged through the mud behind him. He sighed, if perhaps the rain would stop or if the mud would quit soaking through the fabric of his already soaked tunic, or if he could sleep for more than an hour at a time, that would be wonderful. But none of those things were a part of this mission, in fact, it was mostly reconnaissance about a wayward separatist information station way out here on an obscure planet.
The Chancellor had asked him to come here himself, and he had been loathe to refuse that order. The Order was doing its best to keep in the Chancellor's good graces, though he was making Obi-Wan more and more uneasy. The more the man talked to Anakin, the more certain he was that the man knew about Anakin's marriage; though he wasn't sure of what benefit he would get form that information. Or why he hadn't told. The Chancellor himself was a political puzzle that Obi-Wan was yet to figure out, a fact that bothered him immensely.
Instead of dwelling on that, he thought about Satine. She was on Mandalore now, he wouldn't be able to speak to her for several days because of the demands and close quarters on this mission, but she could reside in his thoughts. He let his thoughts trail also to their baby and wondered if they might have a small son, or perhaps a tiny daughter. He would be genuinely happy with either, and he hoped Satine knew how much he enjoyed the nights they had spent on the com line, choosing the delicate looking furniture for the bedroom.
A sound, one that sounded so much like a scream, reverberated through his head. He watched as an explosion reverberated form the end of the swamp, rattling the ground around him, throwing ripples into the tide and blew fire through the line of trees.
"Keep moving!" He yelled to the men, picking up his pace. "Get out of the swamp and head for cover."
"Sir!" they yelled in agreement and ran as much as they could run through the muck holding them back. Shells began to rain down on them, mortar fire and explosions rattled the ground and the trees. He stopped, pulling one of his men out of the water where a blast had shaken him to the ground. After a desperate running drag, the clone wrapped under his arm, they made it to the tree clearing where at last they could have some shelter.
"Seems the Chancellor was right, General." Cody said, taking off his helmet to hold it in the rain and wash it somewhat clean. "That's more Separatist fire than I've seen in a long time. They must have been watching us."
Obi-Wan nodded in agreement, but his head was turning circles. They had landed in dense cover, no tracking on or available for them to have seen the Republic ships arriving. Yet, that had pinpointed their location to the point that one of his men was now nursing a severely cut shin and bruises where the firebombs (which were now raining over the swamp they had just been encased in) had punched through his armor. It was almost as if someone had betrayed them, given their position away. He shook away the thought, slipping a hand into his wet tunic to the newly sewn in pocket that held his wedding band, letting the little cold touch reverberate through his fingers, and thoughts of conspiracy disappear as he settled down to rest.